In Which Jounouchi Gets Hired at the Host Club
by ToxicTsukino
Summary: Lost-not wanting to compromise between dueling and working a menial job, Jounouchi seeks guidance from Mai who leads him in the direction of the red light district. Among the shenanigans that incur, our newly turned host boy crosses paths with the most unlikely of people and winds up in the most surprising of circumstances...
1. PART I

Hello! I am ToxicTsukino! I write a variety of fanfiction here on the internet and it's been a while since I've delved into the Yu-Gi-Oh fandom. The last time I wrote anything of the sort, I was seventeen and extremely juvenile! LMAO But ten years later and I'd like to think I've grown up a little. Failsafe happens to be my childhood best friend and back in the day we were obsessed a multitude of different fandoms. We've reconnected recently and through her motivation to write a fanfic series titled, "It's Always Sunny in Domino City"...she dragged me back into YGO hell. Despite us sailing some different ships; we had one of them in common. Violetshipping/Puppyshipping. Being a cheerleader turned into me actually collaborating with Failsafe and writing something that diverted in a damn multichaptered RP/fic. SO here's basically the result of re-entering YGO hell, being a fanfic cheerleader, and sailing the same ship. In terms of Jounouchi and a couple of references-I'm obsessed with J-Fashion and pop culture. Mai and Jounouchi have really big/gaudy hair hence my idea that they'd look gyaru/gyaruo maybe and would have worked a kyabakura (host/hostess) clubs at one point or another to make big $$$ to survive. PLUS, I thought it would be an interesting way for our boys to cross paths! ;) Anyway, I hope you enjoy as much as I had fun writing it! -ToxicTsukino

I'm failsafe on AO3, and I've written for a variety of fandoms. After a strange year of not writing much at all, a childhood obsession crept up on me and dug its claws in. As ToxicTsukino explained, she and I have talked about it a lot, and it led to the creation of an AU of a fic which wasn't even finished. I hope you enjoy this and that you'll check out my other fanfic. I haven't posted RP-as-fic before, so this is a new experience for me in spite of how much I've written. Feedback is appreciated. -Fail Safe

 **PART I**

It had been a couple days since Jounouchi had encountered Honda working at the izakaya…and well, Kaiba of all people. The first thing Jounouchi did as soon as he got home was be sick. He threw up all over the bathroom but was partially grateful that his father wasn't present to witness him projectile vomit all over the floor. After he cleaned up his self-induced mess and himself; he decided to call up his friend and give him an ear full.

"Don't EVER let me drink again," he warned.

"Where the hell did you think you were? The last person I expected to show up at my workplace was you. Plus, _you_ were the one who wanted to take shots of sake in the first place," Honda retorted in defense. He sounded like he was outside walking somewhere…

"Why are you working there anyway? You're going to school aren't you?"

"Money doesn't grow on trees. Me being in school is not enough. Tuition is steep and you know my folks can't fork over the entire expense of it all. Even if they did….I'd feel bad. They work hard enough as is. The goal is to eventually take care of them in the future. I'm not a kid anymore, and not to hop on your ass Jou-but you're not either. We can't be playing around like we did before or life is going to eat us. You're going to have to be as much of a member of society as I am having to be," explained Honda pointedly.

"Gee thanks mom," Jounouchi muttered glumly.

"It's nice to know you got home in one piece," Honda commented with a chuckle.

"Psh! No thanks to you! I ate shit thank-you-very-much. Don't ever ask that dickhead for favors ever again. While I'm grateful for bumming a ride off of him and all; I still got my dignity handed to me...literally. Forreal, fuck that guy," said Jounouchi.

"He can't be all that bad if he had been willing to escort you home," pointed out Honda.

"Yeah? Well…hopefully that's the last of me seeing Kaiba for awhile. The last thing I need is to cross paths with him while I'm in this state..."

There was a drawn out silence on the other end of the phone. Jounouchi could hear the jingle of possibly Honda's belt chain or his house keys as he walked to where ever he was headed.

"What are you going to do?" Honda finally asked.

"I don't know yet. I got sick. That can't be helped. It was bad timing. I'll find something. Don't worry about it," answered Jounouchi.

He could almost see Honda's shitfaced grin and he said it.

"Or you could dye your hair black and finally look Japanese like the rest of us respectable adults. Then become a temp salary worker. It's good money. It's hard to be vain when you're dirt poor Jou..."

Jounouchi rolled his eyes, "First off, society can go suck my dick. If you want to be slave to the man up there then fine. You do that. I won't piss on you for it. I got different plans. I want to duel professionally and that takes standing out if I'm gonna to do that. Duel Monsters is a game for people like us. How the hell am I gonna appeal to people when I look like any other kid on the street?"

"With that street yankii aesthetic? No offense Jounouchi, but do you really think mothers will let their precious children look up to you when you look like you scrap on other people for a living? You gotta clean up your image man... If you want to play games-that's totally fine. However, you need a day job to support this endeavor. You can't just solely survive on whatever to get by while you play around," Honda lectured.

He was right in a sense. However, Jounouchi knew it would be hard to get hired just anywhere. His look would hold him back and he knew this. He didn't have cash right out the door for a new wardrobe as much as he wanted it… Another worry also lingered that the blonde just had to voice to his friend right then and there.

"So what the hell am I supposed to do? Work at a combini so I can have my hair dyed? For scrap change? Really? How the hell am I gonna get the hours off to compete?" argued Jounouchi.

"You'll figure it out. Get a night job. You can play during the days and work in the evenings. That's how I'm doing it," Honda suggested.

"Hey...Honda. Be a pal. Send in a good word for me at your place," Jounouchi coaxed.

"Pffttt! Like hell I'd do that-you fucking freeloader. You'd drink or eat your paycheck away and my boss would hate me for even getting you into the door. I'd be risking my pay or my own job for your sorry ass. Find your own gig fucker. I have faith in you. You can do it if you just _try_ ," Honda retorted jokingly with a laugh.

"You're a total pain in my ass….but hey, thanks for today. I appreciate it," answered Jounouchi with a weary smile.

"Think nothing of it. We all have bad days man.. Just don't stay down for too long okay? Otherwise the world is gonna pass on by..."

With that, Honda bid him goodbye for the night. His words rang through Jounouchi's head. Honda had a point. He couldn't be complacent. Otherwise, he would never reach his goal. He was at a loss in a sense... Who the hell would hire him?

It took a couple of days thinking on it. He roamed around the streets to get away from his father's drunken fits as he pondered. It finally hit him after day three of the ritual just who to call…

Jounouchi dialed the number into the cracked screen of his cell phone trying to recall the last time he had even pressed 'call' for this particular number.

"What a surprise! Jounouchi long time no speak," the familiar female voice answered upon the fourth ring.

"Hey Mai…. I need some advice. I thought you'd be able to help me..."

* * *

Weeks later and after a good word in from Mai...as well as some lessons from the older woman-Jounouchi was working at a host club in the red light district. At first, he had been hesitant about taking on such work. He had always mistaken the work for being some sort of gigolo. However, it wasn't that sort of work at all unless someone decided to make it be. Men merely socialized with lonely female patrons-luring them with champagne calls at the possibility of a relationship that was more than what it really was. The pay was surprisingly good. If he moved up ranks he would be able to pay for himself and his father's habits. He'd get to afford the newest duel disk that Kaiba Corporation came out with. More importantly, he'd be permitted to duel during the daylight hours before his shift at the host club.

There were cons about working this type of job. First of all, it was somewhat of a lifestyle. There was a lot of primping and upkeep involved that Jounouchi never knew was even a thing. He noticed that his blonde hair fit right in. There were many other guys with gaudy or rough appearances. They were the type of men that looked like they were ex-gangsters that hit people with metal poles and rode motorbikes. There were also guys that looked like boy idols or rock stars… The most popular or requested hosts were those sorts.

Jounouchi didn't know where exactly he fit in because he was neither. His first advance paycheck went into cleaning himself up. Mai knew exactly where to go to shop. She had worked many different night jobs before. She preferred working in casinos but occasionally would work at kyabakura herself. She enjoyed dolling up and getting to wear sparkling swallowtail dresses and making her hair super big. It was something she wasn't always permitted to do while working at the casinos.

They went to various boutiques trying on off-duty street wear and as well as suits for nights at the club. All were fitted to his body shape and he wasn't quite used to the feel of everything because he had worn ratty clothes from high school for so long. Mai lectured him on the importance of accessorizing and flashing brand names in his coordinates… It would show that Jounouchi wasn't a broke boy and that he could afford to "court" a lady even though he was off the market.

As they went to the hair salon for Jounouchi to get a trim and bleach-touch up, Mai also stressed about the importance of not dating his clients.

"As much as it's tempting, _do not_ date your patrons Jounouchi," she said.

"Even if they're cute?" Jounouchi mocked, borderline joking about it. Heck, if they were cute-then they were cute!

"Unless you want the girl to interfere with your other girls at the club seeing you or for you to lose a client-you shouldn't. This is merely business. You need to keep them coming in regularly and drinking. I know you're a shit liar but hopefully the other guys there will give you pointers on vague flirting or how to 'nanpa'," Mai answered.

"Playing catch?" Jounouchi repeated referencing to the term nanpa.

"Your first task as a newbie will be to lure girls to your club from the street. So you better learn how to be smooth real quick," explained Mai.

Jounouchi felt the pressure hearing the warning from his friend. He was awful with women. If they were also anything like Mai, he'd have an especially hard time. He wasn't quite sure how to do that or the other thing…. 'Douhan'… Most the hosts were required to phone up some of the girls for dates outside of the club. Usually, they would consist of dinners and the like that eventually lead to them going into the club by the end of it. You got a hefty commission for these types of dates and the blonde knew he'd have to make a lasting impression in order to have one of the girls he was "courting" answer their phones.

Another thing Jounouchi was anxious about was the drinking. Mai had given him some pointers on how to pace himself but have the other girls drink instead.

"Try to snag girls who you know can handle their alcohol and have cash coming in. Don't aim for prostitutes or other hostesses unless you're desperate. If I were you, I'd even market myself outside of the regular shift and outside of the red light district. Linger in the rich parts of town. Women have money there and won't be stingy. Don't be picky with age either. This isn't romance. This is a business. Keep that in the back of your head and you'll go far," suggested Mai.

Jounouchi had to keep the last bit of her words in his head. This was purely business. If he got too distracted with working here; he'd lose sight of his goal. He didn't want to make a career out of becoming a host. Matter of fact, he didn't want the gang to know he was working as one either. If he could avoid them figuring out about this then he would be able to concentrate more-all the while be lectured by Anzu and Honda about this decision less.

Heck, it hadn't been his suggestion. It had been Mai's! She had said the hours and regulations were perfect a fit for what he needed and that if he did well he could earn a to of money. More than he had even seen in his life. Mai had recalled having friends who quit hosting or hostessing to open other clubs or other businesses with their hard earned savings once they retired from the life of being a night worker. If Jounouchi played it smart, he would either graduate from being a host and be stable or would succeed in being a duelist and be able to leave the lifestyle of being a night worker all together.

The night before his first shift at the club, he took a good look at himself in the mirror. He had a flashy burgundy suit, a satin black dress shirt half buttoned down, with a sparkling studded belt that had a dragon with ruby eyes as the belt buckle. He had black pointy snake skin boots with buckles adorning his feet-though he had to admit, those were the most uncomfortable shoes he had worn in his life compared to his worn out sneakers.

In all, Jounouchi even felt like dressed like this-he could have given that prick Seto Kaiba a run for his money. Not that it mattered or anything... He just thought he cleaned up damn well.

He had chosen his host name to be 'Kat'...a short derivative of his own given first name. It would be easier to respond to. He also found it cute that 'Kat-kun' could be used by his female patrons if they felt like it.

* * *

Many weeks later, Jounouchi-or as he was now known as "Kat"...adjusted to the life of a host club boy. It took many failed attempts at picking up girls, marketing himself outside of the red light district, and throwing up many glasses of alcohol...and jokingly being called a light weight by his patrons and fellow hosts for him to adjust.

The money was decent after his trial period was over and he was allowed to work on salary. Jounouchi was modestly rank number five at the club within a month of working there. He was a bit of threat but he knew he had the 'nice guy' thing going for him along with his ability to empathize with the girls who vented to him. He wasn't as much of a diva as the rock star looking boys, wasn't cute like the idol-y ones, or as tough as the yankii ones. He was perfect medium and women didn't mind it at all. He was personable and that's what got him requested a decent amount.

One night, the man at the front desk paled as he took the first call for the night before the club opened.

"B-Boss! It's a big one!" he announced as he placed the caller on hold.

"Eh?" the man in his mid-thirties named Sato questioned.

"A patron has bought on the entire club for the night. A businessman for his clients," the desk man continued on.

"Wow, that's a big deal. That's huge money coming in," one of the idol hosts commented.

"Time to snag some regulars," a yankii man said with a grin.

Jounouchi, even a month and a half in, was still having a hard time at remember fake names. The other hosts conversed with each other as Sato took the call. His smile grew wider and he continued to chat with whomever it was on the other end of the phone.

"Thank you so much for your patronage. We will be seeing your guests soon," he said as he ended the call, "Boys, gather around."

Mostly everyone was already sitting at one of the large booths as the boss swaggered over looking as if he had won the lottery.

"We are being bought out for the night. I want each and every one of you to give the utmost quality service to our patrons for the night. They come from a very important businessman's meeting. A gift from him to the ladies of the neighboring company. The CEO he has worked with someone who happens to be someone who has has a liking for good looking lads! You know the routine. Move them into the direction of the high priced bottles. I'll even add some incentive to this-anyone who gets the most champagne calls or gets the most expensive bottle off of the shelf at the end of the night gets double the pay they usually make for the night. The person with the least scrubs the bathrooms. Don't be the let it be you who ends up being that guy," Sato announced.

Jounouchi was merely grateful he did not have to pay catch outside that night. He would have the ladies coming to him for a change rather than hoping he would be requested so he wouldn't be out hoping to get a patron invested.

An hour later him and all of the hosts were lined up ready to greet their guests for the rest of the very long night of ahead of them. In walked a group of chattering women. Most of them looked middle aged. They most likely had husbands or children at the house waiting for them. Some of the women were younger-possibly a little older than him, however Jounouchi knew not to aim for them. They were most likely secretaries or assistants. They wouldn't have steady income to be returning customers the way established women would be.

However, the next two people who walked into the room made Jounouchi pale. The woman who entered wasn't the huge deal at all to him. She looked like she dressed much too young for her age and maybe stole some brand name Gucci from her daughter's closet to come to the club tonight. It was the person beside her that scared the living shit out of the blonde haired host.

Beside her was no other than Seto Kaiba himself, looking bored as ever-as if he had been dragged there instead of willingly ready to come.

' _What the hell is he doing here?'_ Jounouchi thought in panic. The first thing he thought of was being ratted out to his friend-circle through Kaiba...or worse-be blackmailed. However, at this moment it occurred to him that the last time he and the CEO had met, Kaiba had threatened to kick his ass if he ever caught Jounouchi drinking again.

He did not fancy having another fist lodged up his gut tonight…

Of course Kaiba would be exempt from the 'no men allowed in the club rule'! Money spoke and it was Kaiba's own money who had bought out the club.

"Kaiba-san, Yoshida-san-welcome to our humble establishment. Any of you ladies may feel free to a host of your choosing to entertain you tonight," Sato greeted.

Seto gave the bare minimum of a polite nod to the patron of the host club. The point of this exercise had been to impress Ms. Yoshida into investing her app-building infrastructure into Kaiba Corp. Of course, this would require her allowing him to hold considerable stock in her company, and she had so many young female employees that he had made a certain guess - a __decision__ \- about a type of courtship of her company that might be likely to gain bottom-up support. That didn't change that the oily, perfumed scent of the place sat any better with him. He couldn't help the slight crinkle of his nose for a moment as he adjusted, playing it off as a sniffle caused by, perhaps, an allergy. He was allergic to something, alright.

"Ms. Yoshida," he said politely, and he watched her eyes come up to his, "would you like to find somewhere... reasonably quiet to consider out conversation?" he asked.

The woman smiled at him in a way that made him feel like she might be concealing needlepoint fangs behind her painted lips. She frightened him like a fairytale grandmother in that moment, but he didn't let it show for an instant. She reached up and touched his arm above his elbow - weird electricity.

"Of course," she said, but there was something he hadn't intended behind it.

He still tried not to jump to a conclusion that would lose him what he wanted, what he needed out of this deal. He cleared his throat and forced a smile that to someone who knew him well might have been obviously fake, but so far it had served him reasonably well when he'd needed to pull one out of the bag.

"I thought..." he started to say, trying to assert some confidence back into his voice, but she had decided to take the lead. In the business world, especially at his age, he had learned when he had to - at the very least - play along with that, but he wondered if he had miscalculated and given __entirely__ the wrong signal to this woman about just the kind of deal they were making.

"You should relax, young man," Ms. Yoshida advised him. She was the one who led __him__ in a particular direction beneath warm-glowing lights and to a place to be seated. "You should enjoy yourself since you went to all this trouble..." she suggested, her tone still leading in a strange way that made Seto narrow his gaze a little.

Jounouchi found that all of his other fellow hosts had quickly made dibs for other women and lead them to other surrounding booths. The blonde was stuck standing there like a dumb sitting duck not knowing what the in hell to do... It looked like he was...trapped with Kaiba and whoever Yoshida-san was. He didn't know whether to intrude or not because they might be in the middle of a business deal. Jounouchi felt like too much of a newbie at the club to intercept on one of the other host's group of giggling patrons at the other tables. What to do... Here he was trying to avoid Kaiba at all costs and now he was stuck with entertaining only him or scrubbing toilets at the end of the night.

Those bastards! They were all trying to steer clear of that guy and knew to grab at the other girls fast and pull them away. Jounouchi hated to admit it but Kaiba was rich, powerful, and...good looking. It would be hard to compete with that guy at your table no matter how smooth of a host boy you were. Jounouchi also wasn't fond of entertaining older women who typically tended to paw at young men like him... They were always trying to sneak their hands or his where they didn't fucking belong. It was disgusting. He didn't want their acrylic claws near his dick or their aged bacon strips...

Seto didn't really know how this worked. He had been to bars, and he had been on business meetings that included a healthy amount of discussion or __banter__ which felt almost like a date. There had been some he wouldn't have minded seeing again but had never really cared enough to get around to once the moment had passed. But there was something he had done wrong here. He knew it, because his heart was beating just a little faster than its usual clip and it wasn't a good feeling.

He cleared his throat. "So, we were talking about the API that might be useful for-" he started to say, but then she laughed at him again.

"If you want to be business partners, isn't the point to get to know each other?" she asked. "Come on," she said. She looked to her side and over at some of her younger employees and the way they were having a good time. "What made you decide to do __this__ for them?" she asked, admiring and perplexed.

Suddenly, he felt like she was a little less hot on his trail like some kind of actual predatory creature, but he still felt uneasy. "I just wanted to make it clear that I was willing to meet you halfway with your vision for your company," he said, honest to the point of feeling almost bumbling because he was just trying to get it out. "I'll... go see if I can find us something to drink," he said. Something that wouldn't get either of them too intoxicated but something to take the edge off. Maybe he had misread the situation __again__. As he stood up, ready to figure out how all of this worked as opposed to a __regular__ bar, he almost ran into one of the things he was least prepared to deal with.

The second he recognized Jounouchi, he felt some adrenaline course back into his blood, not quite killing the underlying tremor of nerves but giving it somewhere to go. They weren't quite far enough away from the booth to be out of earshot, so he seized Jounouchi by both his arms just above his elbows and pushed him back, as discreetly as he could, to somewhere he could __demand__ explanation as soon as possible. When they were still again, he looked him up and down skeptically. He recognized him, but Jounouchi's new garb and lack of upper-lip stubble was __weird.__

Jounouchi paled as his eyes locked with Kaiba's blue hues. The taller male yanked him by the arm and dragged him over to the hallway where the bathroom was without any sort of explanation. He wanted to pull his arm away but knew it would be rude considering his occupation currently.

"What hell?" he began as he was shoved back into the wall, "Do I _know_ you?"

He smirked teasingly knowing it was a shit banter acting like he didn't know Kaiba but it could be a fun one. Kaiba looked out of his element in a place like this, no matter how hard he was trying keep his cool. Suddenly, Jounouchi felt less nervous despite being pinned to a wall by the livid CEO.

"No," Seto warned. "You don't. Not here," he said. "But __what__ are you doing here?" he asked in a very low tone of voice.

"I _work_ here. It's a pretty good gig and it pays well. You were the last person I would never think to see pass through these doors so call me shocked," answered Jounouchi, "If you really wanna keep interrogating me you're going to have to do it later when I'm off the clock."

"You work here. In a place that serves booze as its primary source of profit? Or are __you__ the primary source of profit..." Seto replied, cool and accusing at once.


	2. PART II

Hello again! This is ToxicTsukino doing this author note! Finally, we have some progression in this. Yay! Jounouchi and Kaiba bantering... tho ahahah... Kaiba seems quite uncomfortable in this. ALSO-you'll notice in this chapter that I am SHIT at figuring out how drinking games work because I don't drink-thus, I don't participate in such things. So my little game of 'Truth and Lies' is stupidly rigged and laughable. Oh well, I hope you'll still get the gist of it and find some sort of amusement with it.

* * *

 **PART II**

"Whatever you want to think of it as rich boy. Sex is a no go, but I'm companionship for most of the lonely women who step into this place. I'm not half bad at it either. Yeah, there's drinking involved but it makes bank to the bills-so I'm not gonna complain. Not everyone is privileged like you. So...are you gonna get off of my ass now?" Jounouchi scoffed in explanation. He gripped at Kaiba's arms that were still stuck on either side of him giving the man's pale hands a firm squeeze as if to coax him to loosen his grip.

"... I might," Seto said, begrudgingly. He glanced over his shoulder. "If you can... help me," he suggested, backing off slightly but not entirely letting Jounouchi out of his reach.

Jounouchi smirked, "So what will it be? I know you say you're straight edge, but that doesn't mean your lady friend is. Anything you can't drink-I will drink on your behalf. So don't hold back and don't be stingy."

"She's a business partner, but I... can't quite get a read on her," Seto said, feeling like this was suspiciously close to another actual conversation. He glanced back in the direction he had come. Then he met Jounouchi's eyes again as his own hands found his pockets. "If you're as good as you say you are, I need you to talk to her and help me filter through... our negotiations here." He smirked, a challenge.

"I'm at your service. Let me handle it. I'll loosen her up in no time," Jounouchi assured proudly. He knew he was low-key bragging. Women of this type were very smart but with enough attention and flattery? They could be extremely easy... He shuddered at the thought of how hard he was gonna have to play tonight but the rewards were steep if he could just tolerate Kaiba glaring at him all night and this most likely-grabby business partner of his.

It was a good thing Kaiba didn't fully drink if at all... It meant Jounouchi could get obliterated enough to handle this situation. It was a challenge to keep composed but once he was loosened up-he'd like to think that he was a pretty damn funny drunk. It would help that mostly everyone else would be as drunk by the time he was buzzed. His tolerance was growing. Jounouchi straightened up his pricey suit and called out to the waiter who was waiting for drink orders without a care in the world as to the dent in Kaiba's wallet it would be, "We're ordering an order of Dom Perignon for Kaiba-san and Yoshida-san's table! Place it on Kaiba-san's tab!"

"Now if you'll excuse me," Jounouchi murmured brushing past Kaiba..he grabbed the man's hand boldly leading him back to his table. He wasn't used to being gentlemanly or proper, using honorifics or flattery; but it was part of the job and he had to play his part well.

"Yoshida-san! It's seems like you're a very lucky lady tonight! You're first in the company of some of the best hosts in this district and Kaiba-san. That's quite a feat in itself. Secondly, your business partner ordered us some really expensive champagne. So let's have some fun ne?"

Seto frowned at the unexpected touch, but with Jounouchi being as loud as he was being, he didn't think his own attitude mattered much. Suddenly, he felt a little guilty for even wanting the help at all. He gave Jounouchi a sideways glare as he pulled away and went back to his seat.

"I see," Yoshida replied to the host. She placed her hands on the table in front of her, folded together at the fingers politely as Kaiba seemed to have returned with another boy. She studied Kaiba for a moment and then seemed to recover her concentration. "I didn't mean to make my potential business partner nervous," she said to the host, but really she was still talking to Kaiba himself, teasing perhaps.

"I wasn't nervous," Kaiba said, but it seemed like it wasn't exactly the most smooth thing to say under the circumstances.

Jounouchi cackled at the fact that even his business partner knew Kaiba was out of his god damn element. Seto Kaiba was usually not an easy man to read. He summed it up to this woman not being a young chick. This was an older woman and one that possibly had enough experience to rope even someone as sharp as the blue hued executive right around her finger. Perhaps it's why she dragged her business meeting here in the first place; knowing that Kaiba would be uncomfortable or potentially drink too much to potentially be taken advantage of, given the right circumstances. Kaiba was usually a total douche and him being nervous was hilarious. However, Jounouchi still felt a need to look after him. After all, he and Kaiba had a bit of a history and that counted for something.

"A pretty woman like yourself would make anyone nervous m'am!" Jounouchi answered with oozing flattery hoping it won him points. He also hoped it veered the attention off of his rival and more so on the woman he was entertaining. Women no matter what the age, enjoyed being treated like princesses...

When the waiter arrived with the champagne, Yoshida neatly took one of the glasses into her fingers. clearing well-versed in using it as a polite prop. At the same time, she rolled her eyes at Jounouchi.

"Please," she said. "You can only flatter me so much. I know there are plenty of younger and prettier girls among my employees. I came here to get to know Mr. Kaiba..." she said, tilting her head expectantly and then glancing into the host's eyes, trying to enlist his complicity in this endeavor. She sipped the champagne.

Begrudgingly, Seto took hold of one of the three glasses and took a deep drink of the bubbly liquid that tasted of nothing he wanted more of. He glanced at Jounouchi a bit bitterly but without much direct intention.

"Ahh, but I was being honest. Younger women don't have the same wisdom to share with us poor souls. Or the experience. That's why we're nervous as hell! Don't take it personally," Jounouchi assured as he drank some of his own champagne for liquid courage. He raised his eyebrow challengingly at the woman as he continued, "What do you want to know that the world doesn't already know about Seto Kaiba?"

Jounouchi could list a few things that he could have recalled knowing that nobody else would know. He could playfully use it at leverage even but he wasn't going to. He wanted to know exactly why this woman was so keen on getting to know someone as cold Kaiba…

Surely this woman had a husband and possibly a kid somewhere based on her build and age. He glanced at her hands noting that she had a subtle mark on her ring finger. It was a banded mark that was much a much lighter skin tone than the rest of her hand. The pale line even left a slight indent. It was the sign of a recently removed wedding ring...

Suddenly, the blonde haired host knew exactly what Mrs. Yoshida was after….

"Oh, I just want to know what's valuable to him that isn't obvious from the moment he started talks with my company," she replied, catching Jounouchi's eyes at the exact spot where he was watching, scanning. She raised her eyebrows at him. She tapped her finger against her glass without taking another sip.

A moment later, Seto turned up the glass and in as polite a movement as it was possible to do so, he swallowed the rest of the liquid, doing his best to do it fast so that he wouldn't taste it.

"So Kaiba, what is it that's important to you that nobody knows about hm?" Jounouchi asked amusedly.

In reality, he knew what that was easily. It was his brother. Jounouchi wasn't stupid enough to even bring that up. The older sibling had dealt with far too many kidnappings as is.

Glancing at Kaiba's empty flute, Jounouchi grabbed the bottle of champagne from the table, "Can I?"

He intended to further loosen Kaiba up and relax his nerves. The blonde wondered how much of a lightweight Kaiba was or if he actually went to enough social gatherings to build up a tolerance to alcohol… So much for supposedly assuming this guy was a straightedge.. Jounouchi also noticed that Yoshida hardly touched her glass at all. He somehow knew he had to get to her to drink and for her to so do a lot more than Kaiba…

"Very little," Seto replied, feeling his legs feel a bit heavier but otherwise perfectly unaffected by the single glass of champagne. He didn't like it, and he wished he could say no, but he nodded anyway.

Jounouchi poured the sparkling liquid into the glass held for him filling it as needed before sitting the bottle back down onto the sleek marble table.

"Let's see if we can change that... We should appease Yoshida-san after all! She wants to get to know you better. May I suggest a shortened game of truth and lies? We will take turns. The storyteller will have two stories. One with be the truth about themselves and the other will be a lie. If the other party members figure out which one is the truth-the storyteller drinks their entire flute along with anyone who is wrong with their guess," he explained.

There was a chance that Kaiba probably wanted to strangle him right now. Technically, they would be at a disadvantage. They actually knew each other but Yoshida didn't know that... Jounouchi hoped to god that he didn't know everything that there was to know about the neighboring man beside him. That would just be strange if so... He also hoped that somehow he could come up with information out of his ass that would be convincing enough for Kaiba to also not know what always was the truth about him either..

"Ah, so you want to reward the best liar," Yoshida remarked as if she were scolding a bit. She smiled, though. "I'm willing to play. I'll even go first. My first story is this: I've never worked for a male boss a day in my life. The second story is: I had my first child when I was 35."

Seto sat very still and didn't make a sound. He stared at Jounouchi as if he might bore a hole through him with it.

"Yoshida-san, you don't look a day over twenty-five. I'll have confidence in your integrity and say that the first story is true," Jounouchi answered with a small smile, "What do you say Kaiba? Which one do you think is true?"

Seto wished that he could just leave them to it. He glanced down at the champagne and suddenly made a decision. If he had to play this stupid game, he would play it the same way he played Duel Monsters or any other game he bothered putting his mind to. He'd play to win. Winning, in this case, meant staying clear-headed enough to get through this night without finding out some new form of humiliation. "The second one," he said. He turned his attention to Yoshida and met her eyes. "You wouldn't be so adamant about employing qualified women if you hadn't worked for someone who didn't do that as much as he should've."

Yoshida looked impressed and then silently downed her champagne and set the flute down in host's reach. "He's good," she remarked to the host.

Jounouchi shook his head in in disbelief. Indeed, Kaiba was good..

"Well shit… Bottoms up I suppose," he said offering a sign of cheers to Yoshida who also had to drink for being caught.

Jounouchi quickly funneled the flute as if it was a shot before sitting down his glass on the table to refill both Yoshida's and his own. He felt a little lightheaded but it was nothing he wasn't getting used to. He had to admit though, this was damn good champagne and it might hit him fast if he kept fucking up enough.

"Kaiba won this round, so he he goes next," he quickly mentioned. He was curious as to what Kaiba would use as his two stories and if Jounouchi would know the difference between them.

As both of the others drank, Seto reached up and thumbed at the corner of his lips, thinking it through before he gave his answer. He wanted this to be over as soon as possible, and he didn't want to lose or to feel himself slipping under the influence of something that made him feel out of control. He stared down at the champagne, seeing it as more of a prop than a drink.

He cleared his throat softly without looking up, looking thoughtful and hoping his reluctance didn't shine through much. "I've had three separate death threats that the police and my staff considered credible this year, and I've... never committed a crime," he said softly. If this woman was going to walk out because the lack of integrity he'd had sometimes to the point that he wondered if it was in his blood, it might as well happen early. He closed his eyes for a moment longer than a blink but then was clear-focused again, glancing over at her and then furtively toward Jounouchi. He didn't maintain looking them in the eye for long.

Yoshida rubbed her lips together and looked to Jounouchi, expecting him to go first

Jounouchi had to stifle back a snicker knowing exactly why Kaiba was avoiding eye contact. Who knew that someone so frigid and heartless could be such a trash liar? The blonde recalled Kaiba deadass lying before in life or death situations; but maybe, that was his fight or flight that kicked in during those times…It also could be the small amount of alcohol already affecting him but Jounouchi doubted this. Kaiba didn't seem like that much of a lightweight.

Seto was avoiding looking at him because deep down, he knew that Jounouchi knew him well despite their imminent disdain for each other. He would be an open book if their eyes actually met while he told his two confessions. Training as a host recently had made Jounouchi pick up on how to keep a straight face or twist a story to be half true.

He was almost bummed out that Yoshida was expecting him to go first considering this would possibly be over with quickly. Jounouchi felt very confident in his decision.

"Yoshida-san, he may be cold and heartless-but I pretty sure that deep down, he's a big old softie. I think it's the second one. You've never committed an actual crime despite having others try to towards you. Then again...that would make the first story as true I suppose…but something tells me things have been rather quiet up there that big steel tower for you to have actually have time to visit host clubs," he teased. He gestured his hand to Yoshida as leeway for her own answer.

"... Well, I think it is the safe guess to go with the professional here," Yoshida said. "I think it would be very bold of you to admit that you were a criminal to a potential business partner whose API you need for your app unless you want to make things far more difficult for yourself..." She trailed off with a nod, letting Kaiba know it was his turn to fess up.

He didn't smile when he answered them both. He simply shook his head. He met his potential business partner's eyes.

"No," he said. "I have. In the past," he said. "I'm telling you because I'm hoping you'll see that I can be honest with you now. I'm not interested in a dishonest deal between our companies."

He didn't even glance over at Jounouchi. He didn't know how he'd even arrived at that answer, but it didn't matter. Many of their first interactions almost certainly took place over things he'd done that, in his present state, he might even be somewhat ashamed of.

"EHH?! What the heck...and here I thought rich boy was a goodie goodie. That figures. Damn… Yoshida-san, I guess it's you and me again," Jounouchi said in utter shock.

What the hell did Kaiba do that was a literal crime? His mind raced back to all the times he had encountered the man and he couldn't remember anything other than him parking is stupid sports cars where ever the hell he wanted. That was a parking ticket not a literal crime… Then again...what was considered an actual crime? Jounouchi's logic was that of previous escapades of living in the hood. If you didn't get caught, it didn't happen. Here Kaiba was riding his ass over underage drinking and yet, he was a criminal! What hypocrite!

Jounouchi took another swing of champagne until the glass was empty to loosen up his agitated nerves. He glanced over at the woman across from him before refilling the glass of champagne. It wouldn't be long before they'd need another bottle service. They were running out quick.

He noticed Kaiba's eye contact returned to him as quickly as it had shifted and Yoshida was looking at him expectantly. Jounouchi realized that it was his turn and that he needed to come up with something quick. His mind raced for two stories and thought about a perfect but most personal one.

"I suppose it's my turn then… Let's see… My mother recently got re-married to a rich corporate executive-meaning my sister and I technically have a stepfather now. The second story is that I haven't played Duel Monsters in over a year.."

Seto rolled his eyes. He didn't bother explaining how he knew or why, he just answered. "The second one is a lie," he said.

"Ah," Yoshida said, smiling over at Kaiba with some satisfaction. "Boys your age and with Kaiba's company's high investment in the game... I'm going to go with his answer." She looked over at Jounouchi with something in her eyes that was a bit devilish - playful, though.

"HAH! Finally! Drink up." He felt his body fall backwards into the leather seats in relief that he didn't have to funnel more champagne for this round. "The second one is the truth. I actually haven't had time or the resources to play in forever and it's a damn tragedy! My mother recently did get re-married to a corporate heir..." Jounouchi explained with a smug grin. He knew maybe the tone in his voice at the last part maybe sounded less than pleased but it was because he was…

Jounouchi's mother would do anything for a come up. She'd obligate her son to pay up for her ex-husband's shortcomings and nothing he ever tried to do would ever be enough. Shizuka's well-being was always being used a leverage against to do better and better… It reminded him as to why she left him with his father and it made him bitter. Jounouchi had not met this "Ogata" guy his mom married but he seemed like a total asshat. He had seen less and less of his sister due to him sending her off to Europe for her last two years of high school. It frustrated him. He missed his sister direly and felt lonely now that he seldom got phone calls from his baby sister due to a time difference. However, at least now he didn't have to worry about paying off his father's lack of child support…

Surprise flashed in Seto's eyes before he glumly swallowed the contents of the flute, again like he was taking cough syrup rather than drinking something of any value. He felt Yoshida's hand on his shoulder, but it clapped down more like a show of solidarity than the cloying, prying way he'd felt like she'd been looking at him before. Maybe he'd been wrong. Maybe this whole thing was a pointless misadventure. He pushed his glass toward Jounouchi but wouldn't look at him again.

"My turn again," Yoshida said. She sat up and collected herself. She put an extra inch between herself and Kaiba, subtly. Then she cleared her throat, polite and soft, and spoke a little loudly, as if she intended any bystanders to hear it. "First: I haven't had a hangover in at least five years. Second..." She took a breath as if it were a bitdifficult for her to say, but she went through with it without losing her tone: "I intend to go home with Mr. Kaiba here and to make him forget any reason he would have not to go through with our deal with terms that are solely favorable to me." She smirked, breathing through it so she wouldn't blush. She watched for Kaiba's response.

Seto couldn't help feeling his heart sink down into his stomach like the dead weight of an anchor. His face turned red, slowly but surely, and there wasn't a damn thing he could do to stop it. Suddenly, without waiting for his answer, he gulped the contents of his flute in two, awkward swallows.

Jounouchi filled the glasses of champagne again nearly dropping the almost empty bottle as he heard Yoshida's truth and lie. His eyes shot towards Kaiba who he was shocked to see be flaming bright red in the face. So the ice king could get flustered huh..?

"Kaiba….are you blushing? Yoshida-san what a feat…" he teased, as he playfully poked as Kaiba's surprisingly warm cheek. He quickly removed his hand before it got bitten off or some shit, "I'm going have to go with your second story being a lie. You seem experienced with these sorts of places enough to be able to handle your alcohol..."

He glanced over at the brunette beside him almost worrying for his safety at this point. However, Jounouchi suddenly had a feeling that Yoshida wouldn't actually openly disclose that information if that was indeed the truth. It would ruin her game of catch otherwise.. He waited for Kaiba's answer.

"I... already drank mine," Seto said, reaching up and rubbing his own cheek as if he might rub away the sense of Jounouchi having pokedit in front of a professional businesswoman. He glanced over at said woman and hoped that he was right in his assumption. There was some amount of fear and maybe even regret in his eyes as he tried not to look away.

"You're safe," Yoshida said as she sidled out of her seat and straightened out her dress. "Thank you for the opportunity not to dress quite so much like the mother of a five-year-old," she said politely.

Then she leaned in, over, and boldly kissed at Kaiba's temple the way she would her own child, her in the dark where no one would see. Then, she offered her hand for a typical, western handshake which made Kaiba respond in kind like a machine built to do just that. She could tell he was flustered, dumbfounded.

"I think I know enough and that it is going to be fun and mutually beneficial to do business with you," she said, proud but with no ulterior motive. "I'll let you enjoy your night," she said. Then, with quite a bit of a feminine swagger, she wandered off to find some of her employees who were closer to friends, leaving Kaiba with the young man whose help he'd enlisted.

It was Jounouchi's turn to blush right then. He almost felt like a third-wheel watching such a thing unfold. While it wasn't even a kiss of an admirer but one of a mother to a son it still was awkward for him to witness it… He had never seen Kaiba be so affectionately babied before. She might as well have mussed his perfectly styled hair and given him a cookie for effort.

"Yoshida-san, it was nice making your acquaintance! I hope you had as much fun as I did!" Jounouchi called out as she departed from their table.

He whistled in awe at how smooth that older woman had been… Jounouchi suddenly had a weird desire to want to also made Kaiba get flustered like that for some reason. He shook the feeling off realizing how strange that sounded.

"Did you really think she was going to eat you alive?" he teased.

Without asking Kaiba, he motioned for another champagne call for them. This time it would be a large tower. Jounouchi assumed that at this point, Kaiba owed him and he very much so intended to be the top seller of the night so he wouldn't end up being the one to clean the bathrooms after their shift was over. They were already buzzed so there would be no harm continuing to drink.. Jounouchi still had the itch to get Kaiba as red as he was before. He had no idea exactly as to why but he decided to possibly indulge himself in such a challenge….

"Consider it a celebratory toast for your successful business deal," Jounouchi continued on with a smirk as the tall tower of drinks came over creating a spectacle for the other guests to see.

"No," Seto replied flatly. He pressed himself further into his seat, clearly not planning on going anywhere. He didn't even respond to the second drink order except to make a soft, sharp tutting sound of distaste at first.

Jounouchi sulked, "Come on Kaiba… Don't be so tense. You're already half tipsy so what's another half?"

It was true. He had no right suddenly act like a prude when he was already tipsy!

"Regardless, thanks for treating... I'll actually not have to clean shit after this over so that's a relief… I have enough on my plate as is. At this point we won't be out of here in time for the last train even. I'll have to figure it out.."

Seto looked at the tower of champagne glasses. It was pretty, but it smelled of something sadder than its glittery appearance. He looked over at the women and Jounouchi's coworkers. Some were drunker than others, but he was already tired of the whole thing. He looked over at Jounouchi and made a decision, his placid, nearly unreadable game face on. "Let's go now," he said.

"Uhhh..Kaiba, I know you're the boss of your own company and all; but I can't just up and leave work. I don't have that type of power," pointed out Jounouchi.

"You've got a back door here, don't you?" Seto asked pointedly. Suddenly, he was even more insistent about it and started to get to his feet. Even though his limbs felt tingling and warm and he felt a bit lightheaded, he pushed through it as much as he could and reacted against it. Within a couple of hours, it would be completely out of his system. "Let's go," he said. "Now."

"God...so bossy," Jounouchi muttered downing one final glass of sparkling champagne for the road as liquid courage to not get caught leaving his workplace as he stood, "You do know what both of us disappearing in front of everyone looks like right? Kaiba...it's like you bought me for the night..."

Seto made a face, a slight flaring of his nostrils. He glanced over but then shook his head quickly, sticking to his decision.

"They're all distracted with their own fun," he said. "If you showing me to the back and out looks like you whoring yourself out, don't think it's my problem." Then he set off for what looked like the most inconspicuous route toward the back of the establishment toward the nook where he'd first pinned Jounouchi when he'd seen him.

Jounouchi rolled his eyes, "Suit yourself rich boy. I was just looking out for your reputation more so than mine."

He grabbed Kaiba's hand stumbling and dragging him towards the direction he was heading instead of the man's other chosen route, "That's the wrong way… This way. That way would set off the fire alarms.."

The blonde haired host felt himself brush against the walls from being intoxicated and not knowing depth perception. He felt his face heat up realizing he was still holding on to Kaiba's hand as he lead them past the VIP room and back where all the more expensive selections of alcohol were stocked. Hopefully his red face would be mistaken as drunk rather than embarrassed at the realization that he made a bold move…

He pushed the backdoor open feeling a breeze of night air hit him in the face. It felt refreshing in contrast to the warm club room..

As soon as Seto worked out where they were going, he pulled his hand away from Jounouchi, not quite violently but drawing it in protectively against his body. Then, when they were out in the alley, he reached down into his pocket and drew out his phone. He called up his car and while he waited the brief moment to be answered, he asked: "Do you need to get anything from inside?"

Jounouchi wasn't quite sure what Kaiba had planned but it clearly involved getting either a driver or someone pulling one of his fancy sports cars out of valet. He had to think if he was missing anything and realized his bag containing his wallet and his overly untouched duel deck was inside of his locker in the work area.

"Shit! My bag has my wallet..." he cursed softly before turning around to make a move to head back inside.

"Go get it and come back out the front," Seto said. "I'll be waiting," he said. Then he spoke a few directive words into his phone and hung up. In just a moment, a dark car with a uniformed driver pulled into the alleyway to pick Seto up. While he wasn't about to let what people thoughts stop him it at least gave them plausible deniability without taking the time to explain it to Jounouchi.


End file.
